Just Like Old Times
by Mummyluvr
Summary: Sam and Dean used to hunt them when they were kids. Oneshot with slight spoilers for AHBL2.  Sucky summary, I know, but give it a chance.


I came up with this last night, and the idea wouldn't leave me alone. I don't know why...

Disclaimer: totally not mine. it's all the CW's. Oh, and there's this guy named Kripke they keep around b/c the fans like him...

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Just Like Old Times

They ran through the forest, footsteps perfectly in sync, breathing at the same time, heart beating in the same rhythm. Together, there was nothing they couldn't do, nothing they couldn't face. Sam hated to think that it was all going to end in seven months.

The hunter shook his head, sweaty bangs flapping in his face, stinging his eyes. He'd told himself he wouldn't think about that, not while they were hunting. It was too distracting.

The truth was, he'd had plenty of time to find a way to save his brother, and hadn't been able to come up with anything. The end was getting closer, the days were getting shorter, and Dean was freakishly calm.

Again, Sam tried to pull his thoughts from the inevitable and back to the challenge at hand.

Dean had found the hunt. He'd told his brother that there was something in the local forest, terrorizing campers in the middle of the night, keeping them up, distracting them. He hadn't told Sam what the creature was, just that it was elusive, slippery, and they'd hunted quite a few when they were kids.

The younger hunter was lost in thought, reminiscing back to better days- before Jess, before dad, before crossroads demons that stole precious souls- when Dean stopped dead. Sam ran into him, eliciting an annoyed grunt from the elder.

"Watch where you're going."

"Maybe I would if I knew what we were hunting."

"Don't worry about it," Dean grinned, "just follow me."

"That's what I was doing," Sam pointed out, "when you stopped. Why _did _you stop?"

"Lost track of it."

"You lost…? Wait, have we been chasing this thing the whole time?"

"Why'd you think we were running."

"I never saw anything," the younger stated.

"Not my fault." Sam opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off when Dean pointed off into the darkening gloom of the forest. "Look. There. Did you see it?"

"See what?"

"Just watch."

There was a glint of yellow, a small blink, so familiar that the hair on the back of Sam's neck stood up and he shivered. "You mean…?"

Dean nodded. "Yep. Come on, it's getting away." He started to run again.

"I don't understand," Sam whispered as he chased after his brother, "I thought-"

"Don't talk," Dean cautioned, "you'll scare it away."

Sammy shut up and continued to follow his brother through the thick trees and brush. Suddenly, Dean dropped out of his line of sight, either from tripping and falling flat on his face, or diving after their enemy, Sam wasn't sure.

The younger man pulled out his gun, holding it low as he slowly edged forward. He finally found his brother, laying on his stomach with his hands cupped in front of him.

Dean looked up and grinned. "Caught it," he smiled.

Sam sighed and knelt down beside the older man. "What is it?" he asked, wondering how Dean could have possibly fit what he'd thought they were hunting into his hands.

Dean pushed himself up until he was sitting in the dirt and proudly held out his hands. Slowly, he opened them to reveal a small dark spot resting on his palm. Sam quirked an eyebrow, still not getting it.

"Don't you remember?" Dean asked, smiling like an idiot, "dad used to keep us locked inside the motels. When we finally got to go on hunts at night, we'd chase these suckers down. Come on, Sam, it was all your idea."

Sam just shook his head, searching his memories, still not quite sure what his brother was talking about. That was when he saw it, that small blink of gold in his brother's hands, a tiny yellow spark that brought it all rushing back.

"Yeah," Sam grinned, staring at the pulsating glow in his brother's hands, "yeah, I remember now."

Dean nodded as the firefly spread its wings and soared off into the night. The brothers slowly gained their feet, smiling at each other. "Just like old times," the elder commented, taking off after the bug.

"Hey," Sam called out, shoving his gun back into the waistband of his jeans and chasing after his brother, "no fair, you already got it. It's my turn."

"Not if I'm faster," Dean laughter, looking over his shoulder as the tiny beacon blinked in the distance.

For the first time in five months, both brothers forgot that the clock was ticking, that the end was nearing, that all debts must be paid in full. For the first time in a long time, they were just together, chasing a firefly through a forest, living life the way it was supposed to be lived: for the fun of it.

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So, that's it. What did you think:) 


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